Watchuseek Blog

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

As has become something of an annual tradition, NOMOS Glashütte has revealed a new model just in time for Christmas. This year it’s an addition to the Orion collection: the Orion 33 Rosé.

The youngest member of the 33 family bears a striking similarity to the original Orion with its gently curved case and fine stainless steel lunette. But it’s smaller and appears even flatter than other hand-wound watches from NOMOS Glashütte

The watch has a stainless steel case with domed sapphire crystal, and a galvanised silver-plated rosé dial. As the name suggests, at 33 mm, it is especially becoming on delicate wrists. The light rosé hue of the dial goes with velvet or silk, cord or tweed.

The hands and indexes are gold coloured and diamond polished. The domed sapphire crystal case back reveals the α (Alpha) in-house calibre movement with manual winding. The watch comes on a beige velour leather strap.

The clean, elegant dial is inspired by the work of students of the Deutsche Uhrmacherschule (German watchmakers’ school) in Glashütte.

The new model will be available for £1,320 from authorised watch retailers in the UK and at www.nomos-store.com

The world’s oldest watchmaking brand, Blancpain, recently invited numerous celebrities to gather at a charity gala dinner in Shanghai. Blancpain executives revealed and auctioned “The Unique”, a unique piece integrating the distinguished craftsmanship of micro-painted enamel. It was all part of a fund raising effort for the renowned China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe (CDPPAT). The watch raised RMB 1,100,100 (approximately US$176,700) for the charity.

Micro-painted enamel is considered to be one of the most difficult traditional enamel
processes. This unique 45mm Villeret piece is in 18K red gold.

Top quality micro-painted enamel has a transparent and smooth lustre, as well as a
timeless hue that never fades even after years of use.

The patterns and shapes are painted on the white enamel plate by a Blancpain master craftsman through highly magnified glass using immensely delicate brush strokes to reproduce the fine lines of the picture. This is followed by the key steps to ensure the success or failure of the micro-painted enamel - painting and firing.

In order to endow the picture with the freehand style of the traditional landscape painting, numerous tests in colour mixing are undertaken to ensure that the colour will not change or fade after firing.

Each step in the firing process is high risk, thus extremely close attention is paid to the duration and degree of firing. As the enamel is extremely fragile, it can easily break into small fragments during the firing process. It’s all down to the patience, experience and skill of the craftsman.

With only a few talents and elites in this industry, this ancient craft is rare and has become highly precious.

Blancpain Vice President and Head of Marketing M. Alain Delamuraz, and Vice President of Blancpain, China Mr. Liao Yu delivered the unique watch to the donator Ms Zhu Xuelian

"Charity culture is similar to exquisite arts, which can arouse unlimited goodwill in people and play an unmatched and positive role in social progress. By adhering to the good will and tenacious spirit in individuals, CDPPAT demonstrates the beauty of arts to the world. Our continuous support to CDPPAT has highlighted Blancpain's positive attitude towards the cultural and artistic undertakings, and demonstrates the brands commitment to the charity brand belief for 'Love'." Blancpain Vice President of China, Mr. Liao Yu

At the dinner, the audience and guests were touched by the optimism of the CDPPAT artists. Mr. Liang Wendao, a famous cultural scholar in China, shared his opinion with guests after watching these live performances. He stated, "Performances presented by CDPPAT have shown us the perfect fusion between art and soul. A group that is currently regarded as in need of care and help has presented us with amazing arts with their disabled bodies, inspiring our life through indomitable will and calling out with sincere emotions."